Crossing the Zones
by Pernshinigami
Summary: Feralae is an interdimensional guardian, and an apprentice, barely learning to control her powers. Yet somehow she must teach Sam how to use her gatekeeper powers, and keep Skulker from blowing Danny's secret. How? Read and find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Crossing the Zones**

By Nyassa Kaiba

Notes: This is a continuation of a monster cross that I've been roleplaying with my friend ZP Mad Genius. It supposes that a girl named Feralae, in trying to escape her abusive father, accidentally opened a gate between dimensions. For Feralae is a gatekeeper, an order of ancient monks with the power to travel between dimensions. So far she's visited the Teen Titans Dimension and the Code Lyoko dimension.

Feralae's ability to cross between dimensions isn't her only power. She can mimick the powers of the heroes and villains she meets in her travels. There are two conditions to this power, she can mimic ONLY Heroes or Villains that she's met, and she has to know the God or Goddess that is their guardian spirit. For example, Ember's Guardian is the Egyptian Goddess of War, Neith, Danny's is, well… you'll see!

I do not own Danny Phantom, and I do not own the character of ZP. I DO own the character of Feralae. I will warn you at the beginning of the chapter if I have created a made up character.

That out of the way…

* * *

**_Chapter 1_**

Master and apprentice tumbled their way out of the gate to find themselves in a laboratory. Apprentice swears and looks over at her Master. "ZP, are you okay?"

"I think so, where are we?" The Master asked, rubbing her head. The gate they'd come through closes behind them. "Something tells me I'm not going to like the answer." ZP sighed. After three battles with XANA in a day, and then a fight with Slade and Malchior's double confession of an actual GOOD DEED and the fact that he had a son, she was ready for some peace and quiet. While her apprentice, Feralae, tended to bound into adventure headfirst, with eternal energy, ZP tended to get worn out, Sissy trying to chop your head off tended to do that to you.

"Benten didn't say where she was sending us." Commented Feralae. "Just that the Gatekeeper here would need our help."

"Yeah, but I have no idea who…"

"Hello?" Asked a boy's voice as he poked his head in. "Mom? Dad?" The lights flicked on.

The portal was still open behind them. "Crud, we've been seen, ZP run for it!" Feralae panicked, turning and heading back for it.

"FERALAE!" Hissed ZP urgently. "If we try to go back through without our keys then we won't know WHERE that thing takes us!"

"Oh I can tell you exactly where it goes." Said a smug boy's voice.

Floating in the air in front of them was a boy with white hair, green eyes, and dressed in a black and white body suit with a D on it. "Don't tell me we are where I think we are?" Feralae growled.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Replied ZP, still rubbing her head.

"Uh, hi, you must be Danny Phantom, and I just wanted to let you know that this isn't what it seems like." Feralae said sheepishly. "I'm Feralae, I'm not a ghost, I'm a gatekeeper. Sort of an… interdimensional guardian. ZP and I came looking for the Gatekeeper for this dimension."

"Right, sure, then why did you come out of the Fenton Portal?" Danny asked, smugly.

"I don't know why Benten sent us through your stupid portal. Look, we aren't here to cause trouble…"

"Right. I'll believe that when pigs fly."

"Okay fine Danny Fenton, we'll get out of here." Feralae pulled out her sword and turned to face the portal.

"Feralae, be careful, you're playing with fire there." ZP warned

"HOW DID YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"

"I'm from the Inter, we know everything." Feralae said with a shrug and scratched her head while she studied the portal. "Now… let's see, in order to get this thing to take us to back I need to stick my sword in, but if I do there's no guerentee that it won't suck my key into the ghost zone. Hm…"

"Danny what are you doing down…" A gasp was heard. "Is that a gate key?" Sam demanded, coming into view.

"Uh, yeah, your friend didn't want us to hang around, so I was trying to figure out how Benten managed to hoodwink the Fenton Portal." Replied Feralae, casually as she jerked a thumb at it.

"I've been expecting you." Sam came closer. "I'm Sam, although if you're from the Inter like you said you probably already know that."

"I guessed. I'm Feralae, and ZP there is teaching me how to control my Gatekeeper Powers."

Sam sighed. "I haven't figured out what mine are yet. I wish I did. Danny could sure use some back up. Skulker and Ember have teamed up with a ghost named Black Velvet. I asked Benten to send me some reinforcements, even if it's against the rules."

"They might be after a way into the gates."

"And if they get it, bye bye." Sam agreed. "Well, maybe you can help me ZP. I'm not even sure what I should do with my key." She held up a pendant with a sword shaped key on it.

ZP nodded. "THAT is easy." She replied. "I'll show you once I"ve had some rest. Between a villain confessing his undying love and an evil gatekeeper trying to chop my head off I'm wiped."

"Wait a minute, Gatekeeper powers? Is that anything like ghost powers?" Danny demanded.

"Sort of. A gatekeeper guards the gates between the dimensions." Replied Feralae. "There's a network of us spread out throughout time and space. We each have a different superpower. For example, mine would be…" Feralae sheathed her sword and closed her eyes. "Lets see… something nondestructive… Oh, I've got it now…" She closed her eyes. "ENMA! Judge of the dead! Grant me your strength!"

FEralae's eyes turned bright green. Her hair turned white. Other than that, she was pretty normal looking. "Hey, I did it!" She looked herself over. "Cool! I didn't think I could!"

"How?" Asked Danny, looking her over.

"Easy, I found your guardian spirit and mimicked your power. Not as good as the real thing, but still okay."

"Wild." Sam breathed. Danny's jaw dropped.

"Feralae can you quit fooling around before the Parental figures see you?" Demanded ZP. "I'd hate to have to explain this to Danny's Parents."

"Danny, you deform too okay?" Sam asked. "Sorry if it was a false alarm. I've been expecting them."

Both kids changed back, Feralae by dropping her powers and Danny by his usual energy wave. "Wow, that was weird. I felt… light…" Feralae blinked.

"I know, it was weird for me at first." Danny sighed. "I think we should shut down the portal for now, that way nobody comes through while we're sleeping."

"So what's going on? Besides the bad guy team up?"

"Sleep over." Sam replied. "We're going to use it as an opportunity to figure out our next move. HEY TUCKER!" She shouted down the stairs.

"Yeah?"

"We've got visitors!" She called as Tucker poked his head around the door and saw ZP and Feralae. "No, they aren't ghosts, so calm down."

"That's good, I heard the portal going off." Tucker sighed in relief.

"Feralae, ZP, this is Tucker, our resident techno geek."

Feralae nodded. "Nice ta meetcha."

Sam led both groups down to the living room. "We're lucky Danny's folks are out." She was saying. "Jazz too. Sit, all of you."

Then she closed her eyes, took out her key, and changed, or her outfit did. She was wearing a simple black, blue and gold body suit. "Bet you two can't change your outfits huh?" She smirked at the other two Gatekeepers. At the same time her key transformed into a saber. "And this is my gatekey." She held it up.

"Now, may I teach her ZP?" Asked Feralae. "Here."

"Where's the Ghost Zone keeper?" Asked ZP. "Somehow I don't think I'm going to like the answer."

"Right here." A ghost with pale blue skin, black hair that looked like devil's horns and tiny fangs in his smile came forward. He DID wear a gate key, but as a sword.

"Plasmius!" Growled Danny angrily.

"Plasmius is the gatekeeper for the ghosts?" Feralae asked with a growl. "Couldn't Benten have found somebody better?"

"They don't COME better than I do child."

"Another evil gatekeeper." ZP sighed disgustedly. "I don't know why I bother. Especially after Sissy nearly chopped my head off in the Code Lyoko dimension."

"If you're so good then why do you go after Danny so much?" Feralae asked him.

"Don't give him your real name, Malchior almost killed you with it." ZP pointed out.

"Okay, but I haven't come up with a TAG name yet!" Feralae said, alarmed.

"Then hurry up!" ZP growled.

"Okay, how about Hexa?"

"Too ghostlike." ZP commented.

"Okay… hm… Alanna?"

"We've already met an Alanna remember?"

"Himiko?"

"No mythological names remember?" ZP asked. "It offends the gods."

"But Himiko was a queen not a goddess." Protested Feralae.

"Pick another name." ZP growled.

"Ostara?"

"Ostara sounds good. Plasmius, this is Ostara." ZP introduced her. "And I'm ZP."

"A pleasure I'm sure." Plasmius was obviously hoping to have gotten Feralae's real name.

"Well fe… I mean Ostara. Would you like something to eat?" Danny asked. "Plasmius you know where everything is, if you're hungry grab something." That last was said curtly.

Vlad growled and stormed off to the kitchens, walking through walls to get there.

"So what IS he doing here?" Asked Feralae as she followed Danny and Sam to the kitchen.

"He just showed up tonight." Danny replied. "I don't know why."

"I do, Benten probably told him that some other gatekeepers were coming tonight to figure out what to do about that team up." Sam replied. "And if there's ever anything that he thinks he can gain by doing, Vlad does it."

"That's probably what happened." Feralae sighed.

"Who's Benten?" Asked Danny, curious as they walked into the kitchen.

"She's the goddess that guards the interdimensional gates." Replied Plasmius. "She's known on Earth in Japanese Mythology. The Japanese worshiped her as a Goddess of the Arts and a Goddess of Good Luck."

"And she runs these interdimensional portals?" Danny asked. "Weird. Here I thought she was a myth."

"She also takes the form of a dragon." Feralae commented. "A huge white dragon that can't leave the portal rooms."

"I've seen her in human form." ZP added as she searched for some herbal tea. "She's actually kinda pretty in that form, but I think the dragon form is more of a show of power."

"She's a Goddess, of course she's going to show power." Plasmius growled, still offended by Danny's brusque dismissal earlier.

Sam sighed. "I think I saw her one time, in a dream." She explained. "When I became a gatekeeper I dreamed that a huge white dragon with blue markings and golden eyes gave me a sword, and when I woke up the sword was lying next to me on the pillow, sheathed and wrapped in felt. She appeared a lot of different times after that, each time teaching me something different."

"Well of course, the Fenton Portal is the gate to this world, and if she didn't want anybody knowing about your abilities then she'd have used dreams instead." Said Vlad with a snort.

"I didn't ASK you." Sam growled.

"He got it right though." ZP told her. "Benten wants as few people knowing about the gates as possible. And if Danny's parents had known what they'd done. How were you able to ask her for help?"

"Well, that's the odd part. Last night, after we'd fought the team up, I thought about how much I wanted help to fight them. I wished for help for Danny. I guess Benten heard me." Sam sighed.

"Tea's ready." ZP said as she handed Sam a cup of herbal tea. "Raven's special blend." She said with a chuckle. "I asked her to make some for me before we left. Have some Vlad." She handed the mug to the senior Gatekeeper. "And you Danny, and Ostara." She handed each of them a mug.

"mmm…" Feralae sighed as she sipped. "Ouch, hot… but its still good."

Plasmius had gone human again and was sipping on the tea. "It's good though." He commented. "My compliments to the chef."

ZP chuckled. "I'll tell Raven that a ghost man liked her work."

"Who is this… Raven?" Asked Plasmius.

"A teen titan. She wouldn't like you though, she doesn't like villains."

"Me? A villain?" Vlad demanded. "Why ZP…"

"She's right, you ARE a villain. And only the fact that my parents trust you is keeping me from kicking your butt." Danny growled.

Feralae laughed. "Come on, we need to figure out what we're going to do against Sam's problem, and how to teach her to open the gates."

"Right, on topic." Agreed ZP.

"I'm glad you'll help me." Sam sighed in relief. "Right, here's how it happened."


	2. Battle Time

**Crossing the Zones**

By Nyassa Kaiba

Sam took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay, here's what's going on. Black Velvet wants the secrets to the gates. She's gotten Ember and Skulker to help her. Now there are two people to target if she wants to learn, me, and I'm a trainee so I can't teach her much, and Plasmius." She turned to him, it was a question.

"I'm not training Black Velvet." Vlad replied. "She'll steal my secrets and kill me. And unlike a REAL ghost, I can be killed."

"Which leaves her with no teacher and nobody to show her how to get through a gate."

"Why does she want to anyway?" Danny asked.

"Let me put it this way." Vlad told him. "If she had the training, she could get out of a Fenton Thermos, break out of just about any device that your parents could make, as long as she has her gatekey."

"What's a gatekey?" Danny asked, question directed at Sam.

"Every gatekeeper has a sword, called a Gatekey. When you're in a place where you have to hide, the key transforms into a pendant shaped like its sword form." Sam explained.

"You remember that old story the Golden Compass?" ZP asked.

"Do I!" Danny exclaimed. He'd gotten detention from skipping his homework on that book.

"Well it's kind of like that." She explained. "You stick your key into the mass of the gate, and then you sort of… feel around with it for the dimension you're looking for. You'll see it in your mind. And then when you 'see' the one you want you use the key to push the door to that dimension open."

"Like I understood that?" Danny asked, leaning back against the wall. "Oh well, as long as it works. Wait a minute, if I had a gate key, could I get out of a Fenton Thermos if my parents accidentally pull me in?"

"You're not a gate keeper." Pointed out Vlad. "Sorry, but I find it important to point that out. A gatekey will ONLY work for the Gatekeeper it was made for. And if you're not a gatekeeper the magic will backfire on you and you'll be thrown into a random dimension with no way out."

"Darn, worth a try."

"Danny you're too intelligent to get stuck in one of those things." Sam replied.

"You have a surprising knack for both getting into and out of trouble." Vlad agreed. "You don't need more tricks."

"Of course YOU'D say that." Growled Danny. "It's only a matter of time until Valerie or somebody figures out how to build their own version and POW!"

Feralae sighed. "You can't use it unless you're a gatekeeper anyway. Suddenly an alarm went off. "Oh what'd I touch?"

"It's not you. That's the radar that mom and dad use to detect ghosts!" Danny exclaimed. He ran to a picture on the wall of the living room and pushed a few buttons. "Yup, three ghosts approaching the portal, too bad the thing is closed. I'll just run upstairs to check."

"I'm coming with you, they wouldn't attack if they didn't have a way out." Vlad pointed out.

"Oh no you don't." Feralae growled. "Not alone at least. Sorry, but I know your reputation."

Danny turned off the alarm and he, Feralae, ZP and Vlad went running upstairs. ZP ran to the control panel near the gate. "Neat tech! I'll see what I can do about shielding this baby." She tapped a few controls. "No luck. This is even beyond my level!"

Feralae pulled out her sword, chanting under her breath. The sword began to glow green. "Starbolts." She explained. "Very nifty trick I picked up from Starfire in the DC universe."

"Here they come!" ZP growled as the gate was slowly, agonizingly forced open. Ember was pushing one leaf of the door, Skulker was pushing the other. A female ghost dressed in black leather and velvet from head to tow came through, touting a sword, (though thankfully not a key.) She had long black hair down to her waist and bright, electric blue eyes. Ember and Skulker followed and the leaves of the Fenton Portal snapped shut behind them.

"Where's the boy?" Demanded the ghost dressed in leather.

"Looking for somebody?" Danny asked. He had gone totally ghost, eyes and hands glowing with energy.

"YOU are the least of my worries." The leather dressed ghost growled at him. "Aaaaah Plasmius. I came to ask for your…"

"I am NOT tutoring you in gatekeeping." Plasmius growled.

"Ah, but according to the rules you HAVE to take on an apprentice."

"According to the rules I CHOOSE an apprentice." Vlad replied.

"Come on, we're both evil ghosts…"

Vlad walked over and slapped her. "You spoiled rotten PRAT! I know what you're up to!"

The lady ghost growled. "You'll pay for that! Ember, Skulker! Get them! All of them!"

Ember charged over, choosing Feralae as an opponent. "You with the glowing sword! Fight me!"

Guitar and sword clashed as the opponents met. "Hey, a battle, I'm always raring for a fight!" Feralae growled. "You would be Ember right? Man have I got a surprise for you!" She closed her eyes, focusing even as her sword was forced back. "Neith, grant me your power! Help me douse this ember once and for all!"

"Oh you're clever." Ember sneered.

Feralae smiled and sang. "THaaaaankkk youuuuuu!"

Ember froze. Feralae grinned and kept singing. "Dance, for the light that's in your eyes, it should cause you no surprise, that we're drawn, to the night, to the freedom…"

"What is she…?" Danny started from where he was firing ectoplasmic blasts at Skulker.

"You figure it out!" Growled Vlad as he grappled with Black Velvet.

Ember's eyes began to whirl and her attacks began to lose force. "Soooo sleepy… what is…"

"There, in a sea of swimming stars, all the world you see is ours, there's no need, to leave till the dawning…"

Ember was frozen in place, eyes whirling with the hypnosis that Feralae had used on her. Feralae came forwards and smacked her with the pommel of her sword. Ember went down, but also snapped out of it. She got up, rubbing her face. "That was a dirty rotten trick!"

"It worked didn't it?" Feralae asked with a smirk.

"What's your name?" Ember asked, curioiusly.

"Ostara." Feralae replied. "Not my real name, but if I told you THAT ZP would kill me."

"Who?"

"My master."

"Oh." Sword and guitar clashed again. "You're an apprentice gatekeeper. THAT explains it. Because your aura doesn't feel like a ghost and yet you're fighting like one!"

Feralae grinned, turning the clash into a parry. She turned the parry into a lunge and what would have been a devastating blow merely went through Ember's body. "You haven't fought a ghost before have you?"

"Nope." Feralae said as she brought her sword down into a butterfly strike. Ember parried and smacked her guitar right into Feralae's stomach. Great, she thought, how do I phase this thing?

Ember grinned as Feralae wheezed. She twisted the guitar around for another blow. Feralae figured out to go transparent in the knick of time and the guitar went right through her. Feralae got up and used her knees like springboards, pushing up from the ground and aiming a punch right in Ember's eye. Ember hadn't been expecting the blow and went flying, screaming, right through the wall.

Danny checked the clock. Oh great, his parents would be home in a few minutes. "OH GREAT! Mom and dad are going to be home soon!"

"Then we must end this NOW!" Growled Vlad as he sent Black Velvet flying. "They know YOU'RE a good guy, but they wouldn't be so sure about me!"

"Yeah, but they still don't know I'm a ghost." Danny protested as Skulker grabbed him by the leg and sent him flying through the wall.

Ember grinned. "Care to take this fight up a notch?"

"How do you propose?"

"Follow me!" Ember growled as she went sailing through the ceiling.

Feralae grinned and launched herself after her. The two of them flew through the air, grappling, guitar shouldered and sword sheathed. The ghost and ghost mimic twined through the air.

Taking the idea Danny and Skulker had also taken the battle to the roof, and, not wishing to get caught, Vlad had managed to force the fight to the street in front of Danny's house. It was then that Feralae spotted the car headed towards Danny's house. "DANNY RENTS TWO O CLOCK!" She cried at the top of her lungs.

Ember growled. "Hel-ooh! Your battle's with me remember?"

"I never forgot!" Feralae grinned. "Hey you're awfully pretty for somebody so evil you know that?"

"Stop trying to flatter me!" Ember growled.

"No, seriously. You ever try being a good guy… er… girl?"

"No and I don't intend to." Ember stuck her nose in the air. The battle had paused again. "Stop trying to distract me!" Ember shouted as she dove forward.

Feralae was thrown into Danny's Parent's car, which was making the final approach to Danny's house. Feralae managed to stay solid, but Ember went right through and ended up in the back seat. "YOU LITTLE RAT!" She shouted up and flew through the ceiling of said car.

Danny's mother screamed at the sight of the ghost appearing in HER new car and swerved to the side of the street, but by then Ember was gone. But the battle hadn't finished. Feralae had dropped Ember's power and was glaring at her from the top of the roof. "Care to call it quits Ember?" She asked at the ghost floating below her. Danny's parents were gawking up at the ghost.

"FINE! But this isn't OVER Ostara, not by a LONG shot!" Shouted Ember as she flew away. "Hmph, beaten by a human child, and an apprentice at that, how embarrassing."

Feralae shimmied down that building's drainpipe and hid in the shadows, catching her breath. Then she muttered. "Enma, judge of the dead!" Her hair turned white and she flew to Danny's house. She dropped into his room and dropped Danny's power, becoming visible. "Whew! Vlad left?" She asked.

"Yeah, but Black Velvet and Skulker escaped." Danny replied.

"Ember flew off, I guess she got tired of the fight." Feralae sighed. "They should be walking in the door in three… two… one…"

"Danny! We're home!" Danny's father called.

"Listen, I'm staying at Sam's house." ZP hissed at her under her breath. "Danny's volunteered to convince his parents to take you in, look small and pathetic and for heaven's sake DON'T let them see your gate key!"

"Danny, how were things?" Danny's mother asked.

"They were fine for awhile, but some ghosts came through the portal and trashed the lab." Danny sighed, dejectedly.

"I see, well young man, you certainly can't control when… wait a minute, the portal was locked!" Danny's mother said, alarmed.

"They shoved it OPEN." Danny replied.

"Then from now on the portal is to be deactivated when we aren't here! Is that plain young man?" Danny's mother asked.

"Crystal." Danny replied.

"Now, I've met Sam and Tucker, but who are these other two?"

"I'm ZP." ZP replied. "Sam's cousin, and this is my best friend Feralae."

"Hey."

"Listen, Feralae's stuck away from home, she has no place to go." Danny told his parents. "And she's pretty handy fighting ghosts, do you think she could stay?"

"You? Fight Ghosts? Such a little thing." Danny's mother said in a tone dripping with 'aw so cute and all alone' "You can't be more than Danny's age."

"Yeah, I'm almost fifteen." Feralae told her.

"Well, you won't have to fight ghosts around here Feralae. Maddie and I do all the fighting." Replied Mr. Fenton.

Feralae snorted. "So can I stay Mr. Fenton?"

"You can call me Jack, and yes, you can stay." Mr. Fenton replied.

"And you can call me Maddie okay?" Danny's mother told her.

And that was how Feralae, apprentice gatekeeper, came to stay at the Fenton Household.


	3. Chapter 3

**Crossing the Zones**

By Nyassa Kaiba

Notes: Right, I didn't mention it in the last chapter, but the song that Feralae sang to hypnotize Ember is MINE! It's called Dance, and if you REALLY wanna read it I'll post it. Otherwise it ain't goin up.

* * *

**_Chapter 3_**

Feralae fell asleep in the sleeping bag on Danny's floor that night. And it was then that her soul left her body. The first warning Feralae had was a jerking sensation. And she was floating. "What? What the…" The curse that she had been about to utter was stifled when Benten's voice called from above.

/Child, come, please, I must speak, but I cannot leave the gate chamber./ Benten told her.

Feralae, who was getting used to floating through walls by now, followed Benten's voice to the lab. Mr. Fenton had fallen asleep at his worktable, and somebody, probably Mrs. Fenton, had draped a blanket over his shoulders and replaced his tools with a pillow.

Benten had taken the form of a bentbacked old lady. She was what occultists call a triple goddess, that is to say she tended to appear in three forms, a child, a mother and a crone. Her child form was a girl about Feralae's age, which she had taken shortly before Slade's last attack on the tower. Her mother form was her dragon form, giving new meaning to the Japanese term Momagon (lit. Mother dragon). And this was her crone form, which had only appeared to her once, when Feralae had used Starfireand Raven'spowers to retrieve ZP from the digital void in the Lyoko universe.

"There you are child." Benten said with a smile. "I've been waiting for you."

"You could have picked a better way to do it." Feralae wiped imaginary dust from her shoulders. "You appear to Sam in dreams, couldn't you have done that to me?"

"A child should never question their goddess. However, since you are also a gatekeeper I will answer. One of Sam's special abilities is the ability to see things in her dreams. You do not have this ability, and I needed to get you up here without waking up Fenton-san." She gave a bow to Mr. Fenton's sleeping form.

"What information do you have?"

"Plasmius, for the moment, is trustworthy. I will give you fair warning when he decides to turn against you. You MUST train Sam to use her power. And no, I cannot tell you what it is."

"Let me guess, another stupid rule?"

"The rules are not stupid Feralae. They keep people like Plasmius and Sissy in line. Sissy would have stolen ZP's powers if the rule hadn't said that all gatekeepers must be shielded from each other."

"Not to mention her life." Commented Feralae with a growl. "Okay, next question, if I decide to mimick a ghosts powers, and I get the feeling I'll be doing that a lot soon, does that turn me INTO a ghost? Will I be affected by any of the Fenton Gadgets?"

"You turn into a ghost, you get ghost powers, everything that goes with it, including weakness to the Fenton thermos and other ghost hunting gear." Benten replied. "The same way if you were to use Odd's powers you get his limits on arrows and lifepoints."

So I'd show up on ghost scanners. Feralae thought. "Okay, if Black Velvet can't sway Vlad, then who else is there to target?"

"THAT is a good question. There's an elderly gatekeeper in the ghost zone named the Ghost Master. She's incredibly powerful ghostwise and gatekeeperwise. But I doubt that Black Velvet will be able to get to her. She's too remote, too isolated, and she's too powerful for even Plasmius to wrap his spectral brain around. Don't worry about her."

"Is it true that every gatekeeper has to have an apprentice?"

"Yes, it is true."

"And BV wants Plasmius as her master?"

"That appears to be the case." Benten replied. "It's in the rules."

"Another stupid rule." She sighed.

"So says the ten year-old as her fairy god parents…" Benten broke off at the glare from Feralae. "Okay, okay, but just like them, WE have a rulebook too and YOU have to follow it."

Feralae sighed. "Okay, now, your orders?"

"Easy, you need to teach Sam to use her powers, not a formal apprenticeship, but a… ah… crash course in gatekeepering." Replied Benten.

"Okay, but how does she figure out what her powers are?" Feralae asked. "If you won't tell me."

"AAAAAH but that's the important part. The point is the journey, and the lessons she learns along the way."

"So you want Sam to join me and ZP on our journey?"

"No, Sam is not to begin her journeying until she reaches journeyman level or finds a master."

"You are NOT making her train with Plasmius." Growled Feralae.

"Did I suggest it?" Asked Benten. "No, Ghost Master will teach her. For that, she needs to learn how to get into the zone on her own and come back. In fact, I think that will be her test, and since you suggested it…"

"So I have to take her to the ghost zone? Are you insane? Walker's patrols? Technus? Fright Knight? Think of all the nasties that are in there!"

"Afraid Feralae?" Asked Benten wisely.

"Fear has nothing to do with it." Feralae said stubbornly.

"Remember what happened to Raven when she didn't…"

"Admit she was afraid, I know." Feralae stated. "I'm not afraid of ghosts, or the supernatural, I see it every day, but HOW HOW HOW am I going to get past all the ghosts in there without being blasted?"

"Just five minutes in, and then you can come back. You don't have to search for the Ghost Master immediately." Benten told her. "Now, I think you deserve some sleep."

Feralae jerked awake, then rolled over and went back to sleep, content that she was in her own body now.

The next morning Mrs. Fenton knocked on Danny's door. "Kids, wake up. Feralae, your room is set up next door. Care to have a look?"

Feralae got up with a groan. "Man, I was sleeping like the dead."

"Speak for…snorrrreee… yourself." Danny muttered.

"DANNY FENTON GET UP NOW!" Mrs. Fenton shouted.

Feralae covered her ears. "HOLY CHEEZ!" She cried. "Could you be any louder?"

"Sorry dear, Danny sleeps rather heavily."

"Mom, you're embarrassing me." Danny growled as he heard her walk away.

"I have Ember blasting my ears off last night, I don't need her too." Feralae sighed. "I need to talk to Sam as soon as possible. I'm supposed to help her open her first portal."

"Where to?" Danny asked, curious.

"The ghost zone. There's a ghost of a martial arts mistress that's supposed to train her once she can make the jump. But for that she needs to learn how to actually USE that key."

"So Plasmius isn't supposed to train her?"

"That thought crossed your mind too hm? No, Benten was upset at even the thought." Feralae sighed. She fingered her own key. "Man, I'm barely trained myself and I have to train somebody else?"

"Don't worry, Sam's a fast learner." Danny assured her.

"DANIEL FENTON?" Danny's mother shouted.

"Ouch. Rock paper scissors for the shower."

"You go, I have to check out my room." Feralae sighed. She got up and went into the guest room that had been prepared for her stay.

It must once have been a library, because there were ghost books everywhere, even stacked on the desk. And a computer sat, dusty and unused on the desk next to the books. Feralae sat down at the desk and waited for Danny to finish with his shower.

There was a knock. "Hey." A girl with long orange hair came in. She was wearing normal school clothes. "I didn't get to introduce myself last night. I'm Jasmine, but everybody calls me Jazz."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Feralae." Feralae replied.

"So I've heard." Jazz commented. "Hey, as soon as you've showered, breakfast is on the table okay? And you'll be catching the bus to school with Danny."

Feralae nodded. "Gotcha." She sighed, lying back on the bed in the room.

"It feels soooo good to have somebody reasonably normal around." Jazz sighed. "Mom and dad are ghost crazed, Danny's just… well… weird." Feralae remembered hearing something about Jazz knowing Danny's secret.

Feralae chuckled. "I dunno, I can be quite weird when I wanna be." She chuckled.

"Not as weird as mom and dad." Jazz said, arching an eyebrow. "I guarantee you they're the essence of weirdness."

Feralae laughed. "I think I could get to like you Jazz, being the only NORMAL person here."

If ZP had been there she would have made a very rude remark.

Then Feralae's cellphone went off. It was ZP. "Hey ZP, what's up?"

"Had a midnight visitation?" Asked ZP.

"Yeah I had the most normal dream last night." Feralae said normal through gritted teeth.

"Oh, bad place?"

"Wrong place, wrong time. I'll see you at school okay? Sorry to have to hang up on you like this."

"Sam had a visitation last night, she's pretty upset and needs a favor of Danny."

"No prob, ZP, I'll tell Danny, talk to you then." Feralae hung up. "What were you saying?"

"You're one of THEM aren't you?" Asked Jazz, locking the door.

"One of what?" Feralae asked innocently.

"A halfa."

"A what?" Feralae demanded, though she knew the term.

"Don't play dumb! What I want to know is why you haven't come up on any of mom and dad's gadgets!" Jazz growled.

Feralae sighed, she'd get ZP for this later. "I'm not a ghost, really." She pulled out her key and held it, point down. "By the grace of the Gods…" She said softly. The area of the floor and bed she'd been sitting on began to glow in a circle around her. "By the grace and power of the dragon masters… reveal my true nature!"

The key extended into a broadsword. "WOAH!" Jazz cried, pulling back.

"Don't be afraid. I'm a gatekeeper, not a ghost." Feralae told her. "Its our job to monitor the boarders between dimensions. Following me so far?"

"I… I think so." Jazz said nervously.

"Well its about to get weirder. See, there's a network of gates between worlds. Kinda like your parent's portal, only it leads to anywhere, not JUST the ghost zone. The goddess in charge of the gate is the Japanese Goddess of the Arts, Benten. But there's also an order of monks called Gatekeepers who maintain the gates. There are rules to it, and there are evil gatekeepers as well as good ones. It's a rough life too, full of adventures."

"So what brings you to Amity Park?" Jazz asked.

"A trainee Gatekeeper needs to find a Master. Unfortunately that means going into the Ghost Zone, so ZP and I are on guard duty."

Jazz was rapidly adding things up. "I see. Don't tell mom and dad about any of this okay? But I think that Danny's a ghost… and he isn't telling us…"

Feralae almost fainted. "I won't tell, I can guess what they'd do."

Danny knocked on her door. "Feralae, I'm done with the shower, you can have it now."

"Thanks, I'm coming." She told him. Feralae turned to Jazz. "If you tell him that you know he'll probably have a heart attack."

Jazz nodded. "I haven't told a soul, I swear."

"Then don't tell a soul about me either." Feralae commented. She opened the door. "Danny, can I talk to you for a second?" She grabbed Danny and pulled him into the nearest closet. "DANNY!" She hissed. "Your sister's put two and two together! SHE KNOWS!"

Danny turned rather green and just about fainted. "Are you sure?" He whispered.

"Yes, she said, and I quote, 'Don't tell mom and dad about this okay, but I think Danny's a ghost and he isn't telling us.'"

"I am so toast." Danny sighed. "How did THAT subject come up?"

"She thought I was a ghost at first and confronted me on it. I had to show her my gate key to get her to lay off." Feralae sighed. "Then she confided that in me. And that's not all. ZP called, it seems that Sam had a visitation last night. Whatever Benten said it made her really upset."

"Look, we'll settle this at the bus stop okay?" Danny asked.

"Deal. I need to explain some of my orders to you more clearly too." They shook on it and walked out of the closet. Feralae went to her shower, and Danny to breakfast, and both of them were prepared for trouble.


	4. Chapter 4

**Crossing the Zones**

By Nyassa Kaiba

That morning Danny and Feralae met Sam, ZP and Tucker at school, gym to be precise. "Okay, why do I have to go to the ghost zone to train?" Sam demanded.

"Three reasons." ZP was arguing. "One, its easiest, two its where your Master lives, three Benten told you too. And if the Lady upstairs tells you to do something, you do it, no questions asked."

"If you say that that's a rule I'm gonna hurl." Growled Feralae.

"It's not a rule, its following the orders of a superior." ZP told her. "Especially a superior being who knows more about the universe than the oldest ghost you will ever meet."

Feralae glared at her. "Would it make you feel better to have Danny along?"

"For security reasons, definitely."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you saw how Feralae handled Ember last night." Danny told her. "I saw some of the fight." He sighed. "Mom and dad shut down the portal and cleaned up the mess in a couple of hours."

"You look tired Feralae, what happened?" Tucker asked, curiously.

"OBE induced by an omnipotent dragon. Honestly, Benten may be a good guy, er… girl, but she's just as bad as Malchior in her own way."

"Whoever that is." Danny muttered.

"You don't want to know, except that he's mean and nasty and stronger than the strongest ghost you've ever met." ZP shuddered. "Listen, Sam, Feralae, don't worry about it okay? Benten wouldn't put either of you in danger. You just have to trust her."

"Trust a being I've never seen in person?" Sam asked. "ZP, you can see why I'd have a problem with this."

"Yes, I can." ZP sighed. "Okay, maybe you don't entirely trust Benten, but do you trust Feralae to guide you there and back?"

"Alright, fine, I trust Feralae, but I still want Danny to come along." Sam said stubbornly.

"It's okay Sam, I'll come." Danny agreed as he watched Dash and his friends tossing a football about. The football hit the gym teacher in the head, bounced off, and was caught by Dash, who had to run as the Teacher stormed after him. The bully was laughing as he tossed the ball to one of the other students. It missed and landed by Paulina's feet. Paulina picked up the ball and grinned, tossing it back into the midst of the game. The gym teacher sighed, rolling her eyes in a look that said, 'I give up.' And the Teens continued in their game.

"What are you watching… oh…" Commented Sam as she saw Paulina playing catch with the boys. "Hey, since when was Paulina a tomboy?"

"Since Dash asked her to the last dance." Tucker said cheerfully. "I overheard them talking. She said she wanted to learn how to play football like Dash does, so he's been teaching her."

Danny growled.

"Easy there tiger." Tucker laughed.

"Danny, let her go, if it was REALLY meant to be she'll come to you." Sam sighed as Danny continued to watch the ball as the two popular kids tossed it back and forth and back and forth. His head was moving with the ball.

"Danny, the expression on your face is priceless." Feralae laughed. "You look like I did the first time I saw Cyborg and Beastboy playing video games."

"I can play football too you know." Danny growled. "I'm just not interested in sports."

"Don't say a word." Sam told Feralae as she was about to make a comment. "You'll only make things worse."

Feralae chuckled then, "FOUR!" She cried as the football came flying towards them.

All five of them ducked out of the way.

"Uh, wrong sport." Tucker said as the ball landed on the mat they'd been sitting on.

Paulina ran forward to get the ball. She paused. "Hello Danny, how are you?"

"I'd be better if I didn't have balls flying at my head." Danny commented as he sat up from where he'd fallen off the mat.

Paulina took in the tableau. "Sorry, I'm not that accurate at passes yet."

"That's okay." Feralae said as she dusted herself off. "I saw it coming."

"I have not seen you before." Paulina said suspiciously.

"The name's Feralae." Replied Feralae. "And this is my friend ZP."

"It's a pleasure." ZP said, eyeing Paulina with an air of equal suspicion.

"Ziii Pi, you have such interesting hair." Paulina commented. "I have never seen hair that shade of blue, what dye did you use?"

ZP sighed, with a look that said, 'I get this a lot.' "It's a rather obscure brand. It's called Zoidian Jasmine. I think they went out of business last year, its permanent though, sorry you couldn't get some."

"Ah, that is alright. Now I must get back, Dash is waiting." Paulina said with a slight bow and walked away with the ball under her arm.

ZP started laughing. "I'm NEVER gonna tell her, but my hair is NATURALLY that color!"

"Really?" Tucker asked. "I thought you had gone alternative. You know dying hair is all the rage in Tokyo."

"Tucker I don't care about hair stuff." ZP told him, laughing. "Most of what I care about is my tech."

"You two would get along fine then." Danny said with a laugh. "I didn't think there would be anybody more of a techno geek than Tucker is."

"And a girl techno geek at that." Tucker added.

"What's wrong with being a girl and a techno geek?" Asked Sam, annoyed. "It's gender discrimination you know."

"Right." Danny rolled his eyes. "You two can stop this argument before it even STARTS."

"No, I'm going to keep going with it." Sam growled. "Because you took the same attitude when you found out that Paulina was learning football. Well let me tell you BOTH something RIGHT NOW, Women can do things just as well as a man can, be it sports, sciences, technology or just plain hard work!"

"Yes ma'am?" Danny said meekly.

Sam growled and got up. With a cross expression on her face she went over to where Paulina and Dash were playing football. "May I join in?" She asked hopefully.

"Why Mason, I didn't know you played sports?"

"I'm trying to prove a point." Sam hissed, pointing at Tucker. "Because SOMEBODY tried to pull the 'girls can't play sports or be conversant with technology'… thing…"

Dash got a wicked grin on his face. "I'm warning you Mason, Paulina and I play rough!"

"Bring it on." Sam said with an equally wicked grin.

Danny turned to Tucker. "What hath we unleashed?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Crossing the Zones**

By Nyassa Kaiba

**_Chapter 5_**

"All you need to do is APOLOGIZE." Feralae was telling Tucker two periods later.

"Even if he does I'm still not talking to him." Sam said, sticking her nose in the air.

Feralae turned to Danny. "Danny, back me up on this right, Tucker opened his big mouth, its no big deal right? He does it almost every time right?"

"Sam I'm sure Tucker's learned his lesson, can't you forgive him?" Danny asked her.

Sam pretended she didn't hear and said with a smirk. "You know, I actually LIKED football. It was almost therapeutic." This was said with a menacing growl and a sideways glare at Tucker.

"You are NOT going to follow Dash's example. I won't let you turn into a dumb jock." Feralae told her, grabbing Sam by the ear and turning her head to face her. "You hear me? You're too good for him!" She growled, letting go.

"Who said anything about turning into another Dash, but at least HE approves of women going beyond traditional gender roles." Sam growled at Tucker.

"Tucker, I think we're doomed." Danny stated.

"And its all your fault for opening YOUR big mouth." Feralae growled at him. "ZP, can't you get Sam to see reason?"

"A woman convinced against her will, is of her own opinion still." ZP said sagely, and assumed a posture of blissful meditation.

Feralae turned to Sam. "Can't you just make up? We have to be able to work as a team in case something goes wrong in the ghost zone and somebody follows us!"

"Speaking of which, my parents have a meeting with one of their research sponsors tonight." Danny told them. "Which means that we can use the lab if we have to."

"It also gives Black Velvet and her two thugs a golden opportunity." Pointed out ZP.

"I'll put up the ghost shield so that nothing gets in or out." Danny promised. "No ghosts at least."

"That could also work to your disadvantage." Feralae told him. "What if one of us goes ghost and needs to get out?"

"Then we can slash the connections. It only takes a few minutes to fix them, and we can pin the blame on one of the evil ghosts that got out last night."

"I'm also not letting Vlad in on this jump." ZP told Sam. "He may be a gatekeeper, but that doesn't mean you have to trust him."

"So Benten ISN'T going to assign me as his apprentice?" Sam asked, as if this had been worrying her all morning.

"Nope, its all voluntary." ZP told her. "If you don't want to work with him, what would Benten have to gain by an apprentice who's unwilling to obey or learn from their Master?"

"Right, now I'm feeling a LOT better." Sam sighed, wiping imaginary sweat from her forehead. "Okay, if not Vlad then who?"

"There's an elderly ghost named the Ghost Master in a far corner of the ghost zone. Benten is hoping that she'll take you on."

"Who's this Ghost Master?" Danny asked. "I don't think I've ever fought him."

"Her actually." ZP said with a wry grin. "Benten gave me the lowdown on her last night. Right after she called you from your body Feralae, Benten called me from mine."

"Yes! Score one for estrogen!" Sam said happily.

"The Ghost Master is the ghost of a shrine miko slash martial arts master who died over a thousand years ago." ZP went on. "She's strong enough to send Skulker running home to momma, more clever than Plasmius could ever be, and more feisty in battle than Ember at a mosh pit!"

Sam blinked. "I think I'd like to meet this ghost master."

"You'd benefit from training with her too." ZP told Danny. "She could give you some pointers on how to beat some of your more powerful enemies."

"Okay, I think I'll ask. It wouldn't hurt." Danny said thoughtfully.

"So tonight we hit the gates for some inter-dimensional adven…" Feralae walked right into Valerie. Accidentally knocking the books from her hands. "Oops, sorry."

Danny inched back. "Hey Valerie, what's up?"

"Other than hitting my head, and an F on a French test, nothing." Valerie replied, rubbing her head. "Man you've got a hard skull." Valerie told Feralae.

Feralae looked suspiciously at Valerie.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing." Feralae rolled her eyes.

"What's your name?" Valerie asked.

"Feralae, and you?"

"Valerie, nice to meet you." Valerie started retrieving her books. Then her watch went off.

Crud, Feralae thought. She's gonna think I'm a ghost, GREAT.

"Well, I gotta go. See you!" Valerie said cheerfully.

"Okay, crash course on Valerie-ness, every time her watch goes off, it does not bode well for us." Tucker told Feralae.

"It went off because of me, maybe its reacting to my Gatekeeper's abilities."

"Vlad must have set it to go off when a gatekeeper's nearby." Said Danny.

Everybody stared at him.

"Look, that one time when Vlad gave her the ring? I figure he's the one who gave her all that ghost hunting gear. He's using her to hunt down his enemies." Danny stated. "Look, it's a shot in the dark, but that's my theory at least."

"We'll have to ask Plasmius next time we see him." Sam sighed. "If you're right then it looks like you have some bashing to do."

"It also gives you some leverage against Valerie. When she finds out that a halfa's been using her to terrorize the ghost realm, then she's not likely to want to hunt for him anymore. And if you let that get out in the ghost zone, then he'll be totally unpopular there as well." Suggested ZP. "Nice theory by the way. I don't know enough about this dimension to know that it's a correct one, but it might be true. Feralae?"

"I don't know, I saw Reign Storm, but it looks like that might definitely be the case." Feralae told them. "I haven't seen the other episodes with Plasmius in them, or the one where Valerie gets her gear."

The bell rang, but that afternoon Danny actually walked home. Sam, ZP, Feralae and Tucker were with him. Sam was sulking in silence.

"Hey, why don't we go to Nasty Burger and get ourselves a…"

Sam glared at him wordlessly.

"Or not." Tucker said sheepishly.

"Oh give it a rest you two!" Growled Danny. "I'm tired of you two going at it like this. ALL DAY! You've been arguing ALL DAY!"

"Let's just get to Danny's house so we can open that gate." Sam said with a sigh.

A shadow fell over them. Valerie was on the hunt again. She pause in front of them. "Okay, which one of you is the ghost in disguise?" She growled.

"You think we'd tell you?" Sam asked, arching a skeptical eyebrow.

Feralae growled. "That's not a ghost your chasing. I know it seems strange, but your gear may be able to do more than chase ghosts."

"What?" Valerie demanded. "But it was made for…"

"There are other creatures, guardians than ghosts you know." Feralae told her, sticking her tongue out at Valerie.

"Watch out Feralae, you're playing with fire." ZP told her.

"I know." Feralae replied, pulling off her gate key. "Is this what your scanner is picking up?" She handed it to Valerie.

Valerie held it close to her scanner. "Yeah, that's it. But ghosts can't fit in something this small." She said as she handed it back.

"There's more to life than ghosts." Feralae told her. "Think on it kid." She told Valerie as she and Danny led the others away.

Valerie floated there, dumbstruck. "Gobsmacked, utterly gobsmacked."


	6. Chapter 6

**Crossing the Zones**

By Nyassa Kaiba

**_Chapter 6_**

The lab was deserted when Danny and the others walked in. "Hello? Mom? Dad?" Danny called.

No answer.

"Okay. Can we get this over with?" Sam asked nervously.

"Somebody scared?" Feralae asked, arching an eyebrow.

"A little." Sam admitted.

"Relax Sam, Mom and dad deactivated the portal before they left for the meeting. There are no ghosts lying in wait for us." Danny told them.

"Right… but after all the problems we've had with the ghost zone, I'm a little bit nervous about going in. I mean, all this bad stuff has happened to us there, what good can come out of it?"

"Not all ghosts are evil." Danny pointed out. "Look at this Ghost Master person. She's probably as gentle as a kitten."

"Not if she can send Skulker flying into the next territory." ZP said with a wry grin.

Sam winced.

"Okay Sam, look, you won't be going in there alone okay?" Feralae told her.

Sam nodded.

"Well then." Danny said with a grin. "Going ghost!" He said as he transformed.

"By the grace of the gods, by the grace and power of the Dragon Masters… REVEAL MY TRUE NATURE!" Feralae called as she held her sword key point down. "Sam, take yours and repeat the incantation." She instructed.

"Oookay." Sam said nervously as she pulled out her key. She closed her eyes and recited in a rush. "By the grace of the gods, by the grace and power of the dragon masters… reveal my true… nature?"

The key, slowly, agonizingly became a sword. "Cool, I did it!"

"And you're about to do more!" Feralae said as she faced the wall with the Fenton Portal. "Okay, now this is what we do. Focus on the ghost zone, EVERYTHING you've seen when you were there. You don't have to search for it since you've been there. When you HAVEN'T been there is when you have to search."

Sam had her eyes squeezed shut as she focused, breath held.

"Now cut a door with your saber." Feralae told her.

Sam, eyes still closed, cut a rectangle with her saber. That was the instant that Danny's ghost sense went off, leading straight through. "I guess that means we did it." Danny said, gathering himself to spring in case any ghost attempted to come through Sam's tentative doorway.

"Do breathe Sam." ZP said kindly. "And opening your eyes would help."

Sam did as she was told and gasped.

A yawning portal, sparkling with energy showed nothing but crystal blackness beyond. Danny pointed. "That sure does lead to the ghost zone. I can feel it."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Asked Feralae. "ZP, can you and Tucker keep an eye out for Danny's Parents?"

"No problem." Tucker smirked.

"Yeah, Tucker and I can talk tech!" ZP said cheerfully. "It should only take five minutes right?"

"It should, but if something goes wrong, we'll need cover." Feralae told her Master.

Sam gulped. "Can we just get this over with?"

"Relax, its five minutes in the Ghost Zone, what could possibly go wrong?" ZP asked cheerfully.

"Let's just take the plunge already." Sam said, gathering her confidence.

"Okay then." Danny poked his head in the portal, then pulled it back out. "The coast is clear." He told them. "Follow me."

Sam tiptoed after him, slipping into the portal. Sure enough, she was in the ghost zone. Feralae followed after her. Sam started to float off. "Wait, you have to close the portal again or ghosts can get out." She pointed her sword at the portal. "Use your sword to gently push the portal closed."

"But how will I get out again?" Sam asked, worriedly.

"By focusing on an image of Danny's Parent's lab when you make the return portal." Replied Feralae. "It's all mental Sam. If you have strong focus and confidence your powers will respond strongly. If you have weak focus and little confidence in your abilities your powers will respond poorly."

"Kind of like with Danny's Ghost Powers?" Sam asked. She closed the portal as asked.

"Exactly. I'm starting to think that Ghosts and Gatekeepers are similar. We don't have all the powers ghosts have, but we don't need them." Then she turned to Danny's look of horror. "What is it?" She asked. Then she saw what he was looking at. "No way."

"Hey isn't that our school?" Asked Sam.

"It's also Poindexter's area of the ghost zone." Danny said in horror, for floating right in front of them was a carbon copy of their school.

"Well what are we waiting for, let's go say hello!" Suggested Feralae.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Danny said worriedly. "Poindexter doesn't like me."

"He doesn't like you because he prejudged you based on your actions." Sam told him. "You WERE acting like a jerk that day."

"I suppose." Danny said with a sigh. "But if he tries to pick a fight, can I knock his head into the wall or something?"

"Danny…" Sam scolded. "If you pick a fight with Poindexter I'll knock BOTH your heads TOGETHER..." The three of them were slowly floating down towards the school.

"Alright fine." Danny sighed. "It wouldn't do anything to him anyway, he's a ghost."

"Right." Feralae found herself fazing through the ceiling. "Hey this is new." She commented.

"In the ghost zone humans faze through solid objects and ghosts are the solid ones." Sam told her.

"Oh that's right, I remember now."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Okay shoot."

"How come you know so much about us?"

"I get that a lot. Um… well… in the inter there's a cartoon about you guys. I'm from the Inter, ZP isn't, so even if she's a Master, she still doesn't get the same exposure I do." Feralae replied as they came to hover above the floor in the hall. "A lot of what I know about this sort of thing, I've gleaned from watching the different shows on TV. For example I used to watch the Teen Titans, and before I came here I used to do a lot of work with them."

"But how do the shows get there in the first place?" Sam asked. "I mean is there any proof that they're accurate?"

"Well they were accurate about Poindexter. And the portal and Valerie… trust me, so far its been startlingly accurate." Feralae told her. "The Inter is where the creative juices from hundreds of thousands of dimensions gather. The authors there can somehow see into the different dimensions and know what's going on. They don't know they're doing it. But somehow they're seeing into the alternate dimensions they're tuned to. I dreamed of being a writer before I became a gatekeeper. Little did I know what was in store."

"How do you know all this stuff?" Sam asked.

"Most of what I know I hear from ZP." Feralae explained. "When she found me I was at Titans tower, dazed and confused, not sure what I should do or where I belonged. ZP told them she'd take me in, but that we needed to use the tower as a base of…" She sighed. "There I go, off on a tangent. But ZP took me in and kept me from having to figure all this stuffage out on my own."

"That isn't a word." Said a reedy voice.

Poindexter was dragging Danny through the air with him. "Uh… hi… um… mr. Halfa, wants to be untied now." Poindexter had evidently bound Danny up with a spare rope and was dragging him through the air.

"I'm not letting you go until I have an explanation of what's going on here!" Poindexter growled.

"And an explanation you shall get." Feralae said calmly. "Danny won't go anywhere, but please untie him!"

"Fine." Poindexter was obviously in an awful mood that day.

"To start, do you know what this is?" She held out her sword, hilt first to him.

Poindexter took the sword, adjusting his glasses to peer at the inscription on the blade. "It's a sword, the inscription says, 'by the grace of the gods, by the power vested in me as triple goddess, I, Benten, bequeath this sword to Feralae, apprentice gatekeeper. Feralae, that's you right?" Poindexter asked.

"That's right." Feralae told her. "Gatekeepers open the gates between dimensions. For example, using that sword, I could go from the Ghost Zone to Earth and back, no need for a portal."

"Really? Wish I could do that." Poindexter said with a reluctant sigh.

"It only works for a gatekeeper though." Feralae told him. "Sorry."

"Oh well." Poindexter seemed to droop.

Feralae chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"That posture, it reminded me of my little brother Mikael." Feralae giggled. Then she sighed sadly.

"What's wrong?" Poindexter asked.

"Personal issues." Feralae told him. "Don't worry about it."

"Oh no you don't." Sam told her. "You're going to work them out. You aren't going to hide them!"

"I'll tell you once we get out of here." Feralae hissed. "Not in front of Poindexter… please…"

"Let her go Sam." Poindexter told the goth. "If she doesn't want to talk about it she doesn't have to."

"Okay, fine, but my experience is that issues have to be worked out before they go from small to jumbo sized." Sam growled.

"Sam, you can't make her talk if she doesn't want to." Danny agreed. "Now, Poindexter, WE have to go."

"Alright… I was hoping you could stay for a little while." He said with a sad sigh. "But I suppose you're busy back on Earth."

"Yeah, we are." Feralae said with a soft smile. "And I need to get back, before my Master decides to go in after me."

"Master?"

"Yeah, Gatekeepers start out as apprentices, then they become Journeymen and finally they reach the Master Level."

"Oh, kind of like the Jedi in Starwars." Poindexter commented. "They start as paduwan and move up through several levels."

"Exactly." Said Feralae. "Sam, I want you to make the portal right here okay?" She outlined an area to their right about the size of a normal door. "And focus on going back to Danny's parent's lab."

Sam nodded, taking a fresh grip on her saber. She squeezed her eyes shut and cut open a gate to Danny's Parent's Lab. Feralae airily waved goodbye to Poindexter as they walked through. "See ya' round!" She said with a grin.

"WHEW!" Sam breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the portal.

"That was fifteen minutes." ZP started the conversation, looking at her watch.

"Okay, what is it about Poindexter that makes you so upset?" Sam demanded.

"You REALLY wanna know?" Feralae asked.

Sam nodded.

"He reminded me of my little brother. Whom I haven't seen in about three months. My parents split. My dad got angry at mom, grabbed lil' bro' and left in his truck. I got so upset that I ran off to what I didn't know was a gate. My emotions activated the gate itself and brought me to the DC universe. The Teen Titans found me in the volcano caves where Slade used to have his old hideout, and the rest, as they say is history." Feralae blurted her story out for them to hear.

"Your parents are divorced?" Danny asked stunned by this revelation.

"I suppose that's what you'd call it." Feralae said with a defensive growl. "I prefer the term split, or estranged, or…"

"It's no big deal Danny." ZP told him. "I'm an orphan. Feralae and I have a ton of psychic baggage on us."

"I know… I've just never met somebody who's parents actually DID split up." Danny said, eyes wide.

Feralae groaned. "Don't look at me that way."

"A lot of times Danny, Gatekeepers have some kind of tragedy in their pasts." ZP told him. "There have been exceptions, but most of the time they've got some kind of mental baggage that can both help and hinder their powers. For example, for Vlad it was becoming half ghost. For me it was… well… you don't want to know…" ZP told him. "It's not new news to me."

"Look, I'm not sad my dad was gone. He was a jerk. But I do miss my brother and mother." Feralae sighed.

"But… but…" Danny protested, looking over at a picture of his family on the desk.

"Your dad's a good man." Feralae told him. "You wouldn't understand the concept of the parent as jerk."

"You're right. I don't." Danny commented.

"Can we just drop the subject?" Asked Feralae.

"Okay, subject dropped. Now, Sam has opened her first portal. I say we go someplace to celebrate." ZP said cheerfully.

"How about Nasty Burger." Suggested Tucker.

"I'm in the mood for pizza." Said Sam.

"Bacon pizza?" Asked Feralae hopefully.

"Green pepper pizza. How could you be so cruel to the poor pigs?" Sam demanded.

"Okay, green peppers are fine." Feralae should have known that would set Sam off. "Save a tree, eat a beaver." Sam gave her a gentle whack upside the head.

Danny started laughing. Then everybody joined in. As they walked away from the lab Sam turned to Tucker. "Tuck?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I got angry at you."

"Apology accepted." Tucker said cheerfully.

"But I'm still going to learn how to play football." Sam said, giving him a nudge.

Danny's laughter echoed through the empty lab just before he shut the door behind him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Crossing the Zones**

By Nyassa Kaiba

Feralae looked at the calendar in her journal. Then she circled the day in red and sighed disgustedly. Three months since she became a gatekeeper exactly. She lit the white candle and set it on her desk, then took up a lotus position and began to chant. "Azarath Metion Zinthos,Azarath Metrion Zinthos..."Feralae chanted the incantation she'd learned from Ravenas she meditated.

"Feralae!" Came a happy cry.

Poindexter dove through the ceiling and gave her a happy hug.

"ACK!" The sensation was much like being dunked in ice water. "Poindexter you almost gave me a heart attack!" Then, "How did you get here?"

"Mrs. Fenton left the portal open!" Poindexter explained. "I went invisible and slipped through the portal when she wasn't looking."

"That was dangerous." Feralae scolded. "Don't EVER do that again!"

"I know it was, but I was tired of hanging around the school. And I have important news! Remember the school dance that's coming up?"

"No I don't know Dex." Feralae was digging through the stacks of junk in the room, trying to make room for her to get to the computer and printer. "I haven't BEEN in this dimension that long."

"You mean you AREN'T from this world?"

"Didn't I saw that earlier this afternoon?" Feralae asked, straining as she lugged a stack of books over to a free space on the bookshelves. "What school dance, and how do you know about it?"

"I have a peephole in the boys locker room. I heard that old bully Dash talking to his friends about it." Poindexter explained. "Then later, I heard a ghost named Ember talking about crashing it!"

"Ember's going to crash the school dance?" Feralae asked. "Oh great, well thanks for telling me. Uh… Dex, you're sitting on a stack of books that I need to move."

"Oops, sorry." Poindexter floated down and sat on a stool near a slightly smaller stack. "Who's books are these anyway?"

"I think they belong to Mr. Fenton, they're all about technology and the supernatural." Feralae replied as she started stacking the books on the shelf one by one. "But they're also in my way."

"Some of these look pretty old." Poindexter said, holding one up to look at it. "Oooh here's one that's not about science, the Tale of Genji!"

"Gimme!" Feralae dropped her stack and dashed over. "OH WOW! I always wanted to read this one!" She flipped through the first few pages. "Yup, definitely the Tale of Genji. Good find Dex."

Poindexter chuckled nervously. "I didn't want to go to Danny, he doesn't like me, so I figured I'd go to you about this Ember Ghost. You guys CAN do something about it right?"

"About Ember? Definitely." Feralae told the nerd ghost. She set the Tale of Genji aside on a clear space on the desk. "I've fought her before, and so has Danny. It took a little bit of teamwork, but he managed it." She FINALLY had a clear space on a set of shelves, so she began pulling things out of her gym bag and her backpack.

Her journal and Book of Shadows were set apart, along with her dictionary of Gods and Goddesses. The Book of Shadows was where she wrote all the incantations she learned as a gatekeeper, as well as any other magic she learned.The dictionary was a gift from Robin for her Birthday. It helped her learn the names of New Gods and Goddesses so that she could learn new attack calls from them. The Book of Shadows had been a gift from Raven, who had assisted her in training her mind.

Next came the flute, a gift fromBeastboy (where he had gotten it she had no idea) and her boline (ritual dagger), and several crystals that Feralae had found in her travels, as well as a framed picture of herself, ZP, Delphine and the Teen Titans. She pulled out her deck box. It contained a Yu-gi-oh Deck (her pride and joy) and a Magic the Gathering deck. The last items were a necklace that her mother had made for her for her fourteenth birthday, and a picture of her mother, father and younger brother. The necklace had a pentacle with a dragon coiled around it and was strung with beads of some kind of sapphire blue stone.

The picture was them all at Mountain View Summercamp's last day. There had been a huge bonfire and hot dogs and marshmallows, smores and a waterfight. They'd gone swimming and boating and hiking before plopping down in front of the fire to hear stories about the camp itself. Mountain View was as special to Feralae as her own home.

/The tower is my home now. And when I get back, I'll be able to help the others fight with the new powers I've gotten./ Feralae's gaze lingered on the picture of her family, then traveled to the picture of her friends. /I'll be back. I promise./

"Hey, what's wrong? You look so serious all of a sudden." Poindexter told her.

"Just thinking of home." Feralae said as she took the two pictures down and sat on the bed to study them.

Poindexter looked over her shoulder. "Is that your family?" He pointed to the summer camp picture.

"Yeah." Feralae said sadly, simply. "That's my brother Mikael, and my dad Denton, and my mother Merika."

"I didn't know you were Asian." It was a statement, for Feralae's mother did indeed have an Asian cast to her face.

"I'm a Sansei, a third generation Japanese American." Explained Feralae.

"I didn't even know they had a word for that." Poindexter said, blinking in surprise.

"They do, Nisei, Sansei, and I've forgotten the others."

"Mikael looks like a troublemaker." Poindexter said, scooping up the picture.

"Mikael could be a trouble maker. And you never saw a better shot with a super soaker." Feralae said with a chuckle. She put the other picture aside. "And this is my family away from family." She handed the other picture to the nerd ghost. "The Teen Titans." She said proudly.

"Wow, you're friends with superheroes?" Poindexter's eyes widened.

"Yup." Feralae grinned. "They took me in, taught me, trained me. And I help them inbetween missions."

"But what's your power?"

"The ability to mimic other people's powers, ghosts too, I snatched Ember's power the other night." Feralae told him.

"So you've fought this Ember person?"

"You don't know who she is?" Feralae asked. "Ember is rather famous. She gets power from people chanting her name, and she uses music to hypnotize people." Feralae explained. "That's probably why she's targeted the school dance."

"Do you need backup?" Poindexter asked.

"No, but I think you should come anyway. Just to hang out okay? Or as Starfire would say, 'do the hanging out.' You've been stuck in the past too long." Feralae turned on the computer and turned on the CD/MP3 player.

"What kind of a device is THAT?" Poindexter asked curiously as Black Eyed Peas began to play.

"It's called a computer." Feralae explained. "Man, Tucker could tell you more about them than I could, or ZP. But what they do is store data, everything from homework to games. They even store music, although most people don't like you to store music files."

"How come?" Poindexter asked, giving the screen a tentative poke.

"Because once they're on the computer Music Files can be sent to other peoples computers and that's generally considered stealing. People do it ANYWAY, but the music industry still considers it stealing." Explained Feralae. "Me, back home I ripped tracks from CD's I already owned, and I didn't share them with anybody, so that's generally considered alright."

"This is most definitely a very strange device." Poindexter agreed. "It even has a television."

That was when the knock came on the door. "Feralae it's a perfect night for stargazing. Wanna come up to the roof?" Danny asked.

"Danny can you come in for a second?" Feralae asked, opening the door.

"Sure… hey what are YOU doing here?" Danny asked Poindexter, annoyed.

"He came to warn us. Ember is going to try to crash an upcoming school dance."

"I didn't know there was going to be a dance." Danny said, blinking.

"I heard Dash talking about it! I found a mirror in the locker room that I can see through too. He was talking about it with his posse!" Poindexter said as Danny closed and locked the door behind him.

Feralae quickly hid the pictures. She didn't want to talk about her family again, not for awhile. Besides, it was business now. She turned up the computer so that Danny's parents wouldn't hear what they were talking about. "Any idea HOW Ember's gonna crash it?"

"Her usual fashion I'll bet." Feralae sighed. "Hoodwinking one of the records to hypnotize the crowd. We're ready for her now though."

"Don't you have any details?" Danny asked.

"He's never MET Ember!" Feralae protested. "How is he supposed to know who she is? Let alone be able to figure her out."

"Yeah, you're right, sorry." Danny apologized. "At least we're warned." He sighed. "Listen, Poindexter, is there a place where you can hide? If you go up to the roof my folks will pick you up on their ghost sensor and then all... trouble… will break loose." Danny quickly substituted one word for another.

"Your folks have a ghost sensor?" Poindexter asked. "It didn't find me before did it?"

"The surveillance records will probably show you were here, but also that you're gone somewhere." Danny told him. "If you stay out of sight maybe they won't find you."

"I know a place, if its still there." Poindexter said, rising from his seat and stretching. "See ya later Alligator." He said as he waved goodbye.

"In awhile crocodile." Danny said with a chuckle as Poindexter disappeared and flew out.

Feralae breathed a sigh of relief. "He reminds me more of Mikael than he realizes." Feralae chuckled sadly.

"Don't mope around about your family." Danny told her. "It's only going to lead to trouble."

Feralae nodded. "I'll try. Are the others going to be there?"

"Nope, its just you and me tonight." Danny told her. "Hey, what's circled on your calendar?"

"The circle indicates the day of the month that my parents split." Feralae said, this was said in a slightly gruff tone. "It's been three months to the day since I became a Gatekeeper, the exact same day my dad left."

"Whoops, didn't mean to offend you."

"It's okay. The wound just hasn't had time to heal." Feralae said as she picked up her flute. "Let's go."

Danny led her up to the roof. There his parents and Jazz were busy taking turns at looking through a rather large and complex looking telescope. Jazz had a laptop out and a camera lens attached to the telescope. "Wow, check out this view of Saturn." She clicked on zoom in. "I didn't think we'd be able to get it this time of the year, but the view is perfect."

Feralae leaned over her shoulder. "I only saw a Saturn through a telescope once."

"It's hard to see most times, because the moon and sun's positions get in the way." Explained Jazz. "We're lucky tonight. Mom, see if you can get a picture of Mars? It should be…" And Jazz rattled off a series of equations that Feralae didn't recognize.

"Mars, coming right up." Mrs. Fenton said cheerfully as she put her eye to the telescope and searched at the coordinants. "Jazz has an astronomy report due in a week, and all she needs for it are pictures of the planets." She explained. "So we're trying to get them for her."

"Which ones are you missing?" Feralae asked. "And how did you get the coordinates. Jazz said smugly. "Astrology may be debunked, but the stargazing part of it is entirely accurate. And I'm missing Jupiter, Venus and Mercury. Anything beyond Saturn is impossible with the equipment we have. But its worth getting the pictures myself. Might get me extra points with the teacher."

Feralae sighed, sat down on a chair a couple yards away and began to play a soft, mysterious tune on the flute she'd brought up with her. It was from a CD she'd ended up leaving behind, but it worked. When she finished the song, Mrs. Fenton, who had found the picture that Jazz had been looking for, applauded. "I didn't know you played an instrument."

"I haven't had the chance to unpack it until now, but yes, I do have a flute." Feralae replied. "It's made of wood, this one was a gift." She held it up for the elder Fentons to see.

"It's beautiful, look at how its carved like a dragon." Mrs. Fenton ran a finger over the carved wooden head of the dragon flute. "And its stained blue. Do you know the story of the Azure dragon?" She asked, curiously.

"You mean the story of Seiryuu, king of the dragons? I've heard a lot of stories about him."

"Who's this… Seiryuu?" Danny asked.

"He's the dragon god associated with the direction east. Instead of breathing fire he whips up hurricanes." Mrs. Fenton told him. "He's one of four gods the Japanese associate with the directions. He rules the heavens with his friend Suzaku the phoenix god."

Danny looked up at the sky. "No storms, guess he's not at work."

"Don't be silly Danny, Seiryuu doesn't exist." Mrs. Fenton laughed. "But it's a good story to tell on a starry night."

"Uh… mom… a few years ago they said that ghosts don't exist. Then you build the Fenton Portal and BAM all these ghosts start appearing."

Mrs. Fenton looked at her son strangely. "Point taken, perhaps they do exist. I never told you the story of the incident in college."

Oh dear, Danny thought, for some reason parental stories about college never lead to good things. He was thinking, of course, about Vlad.

"I was on an exchange trip to Kyoto and I was staying in a remote area outside of the city, and it was a very dark night. Not like this one, clouds threatened rain and an incredible thunderstorm. It was almost as if… as if the world were waiting for something, as if the sky was holding its breath.

"Then I heard the crack of thunder. And I saw it, how could I not? The clouds parted before them as they dueled. An enormous bird of black fire and a blue dragon a thousand feet long, hurling thunderbolts.

"I thought it was a ghost, since I am interested in the supernatural. But they didn't speak. Most ghosts would have made sound by then, announced their presence with a noise. The only sounds to be heard from either were the crackle of fire and the boom of thunder and lightning.

"I came out of my room to watch. And eventually the firebird gave up. The dragon chased him away with an Earth shattering roar. Then it sailed down to the shrine where I stood. I was terrified. I was certain that this huge creature was going to eat me in one bite. Just its eye was as large as my head. The dragon gave me a sniff, then snorted as if it found something distasteful. Then it spoke…"

flashback

"A hunter are you?" It asked.

"How did you know?"

"A Ghost Hunter reeks of death and destruction. Yet from your work, comes life. Do you know what… who it was that I just chased away from your door human?"

"No, to be honest, I don't."

"I chased away the dark half of Suzaku, a herald of death and suffering and life and power. Those who look upon him are cursed, after a fashion, something great will happen to them during their lifetime. And the strength gained from that encounter will last them and their descendants a hundred years."

"I don't understand."

"Something great will happen to your children child. And yes, I will call you a child, when you have lived since the great mother took her first breath, then you will most certainly call all others a child." The dragon said with a smile. "Your family will be of two realms, always they will be drawn to the next world, to explore its secrets and its mysteries."

The huge dragon looked up at the sky. "Duty calls. I shall probably not see you again. But remember what I have told you."

The dragon crouched, then leapt into the sky. Within seconds it was gone, streaking sonic booms across the sky.

end flashback

"I felt so sleepy, almost as if I'd been hypnotized. I closed my eyes for a moment and found myself back in my own bed, as if nothing had happened!" Mrs. Fenton told the children. "The next day I went to the library at the shrine where I was staying. There was a scroll telling of a dragon and a dark phoenix that dueled periodically. I've never forgotten that dream, if it was a dream." The ghost hunter smiled at her children.

Danny gulped. "But it's just a campfire tale right?" The dragon in the story had come horribly close to the truth.

"The dragon was Seiryuu. The Dark phoenix was the evil half of Suzaku." Feralae said thoughtfully. "My grandmother was a miko, a Shinto priestess. She taught my mother all the old legends. Then my mom told me." Feralae explained. "Mom said that Suzaku and Seiryuu were enemies. Suzaku hated humans and tended to be destructive. He had a good half and an evil half. The good half represented life and rebirth, the evil half represented death and destruction."

"Quite the Mythologist." Mr. Fenton commented as he repositioned the telescope.

"I study a lot of Mythology. Its amazing how similar it all is, almost as if the Ancient Cultures were one." Feralae knew that, in truth, they had been one, but the Fentons didn't know it."

Jazz glared at her for a moment, as if to say, 'watch yourself.'

"There are some things that are universal Feralae." Mrs. Fenton told the Gatekeeper. "Everybody's born and grows up. A tree is a tree, no matter where it grows. Water will still be water a thousand years from now, and while they'll move over the next thousand years, an ocean is still an ocean."

"I suppose that's true." Feralae said thoughtfully.

Danny sighed, annoyed. "Right, maybe we want to live in the REAL world?" He asked skeptically.

Crouched on a building not far away sat Skulker, staking out the scene. "Sky watching? That little runt is SKY watching?"

"Not a bad idea." Ember commented. She was lying on her back on the roof, hands behind her head and looking up at the stars. "Look at them! The stars are beautiful! Hey, forget about the runt, can we take the telescope too? I mean, look at those stars! They're just SCREAMING, Ember watch me! No Ember watch ME!" Ember made her voice squeaky to imitate the stars.

"Our orders were clear, expose the ghost child to his hunter parents and if possible get the apprentice's real name! Honestly, I'm surprised I hadn't seen it before. Its so simple I could kick myself."

"Let me do it for you." Ember said, annoyed. "I want that telescope! I mean look, it even hooks up to the computer!"

"Ember if you try to take that Telescope I will kill you all OVER again!"

"Says who tough guy?" Demanded Ember.

That was about the time Danny's ghost sense went off. "Oh no." He gulped.

"Danny, is something wrong?" Jazz asked.

"Nothing Jazz, I'm just not feeling too well. I think I'll go lie down for a bit okay?" Danny asked.

That was the exact second when Skulker struck.


	8. Chapter 8

**Crossing the Zones**

By Nyassa Kaiba

Feralae reacted instantly. "SKULKER!"

Danny screamed as he was thrown backward into the nearest steel structure.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Jazz shouted, she dug into her nearby backpack and pulled out a Fenton Thermos. She tossed it significantly in her hand. "Let him go, or I suck you in."

Skulker growled. "Stay out of this human!"

"He's MY little brother!" Jazz growled. "And I'm not going to let you do what I know you're about to do." She picked up a nearby strut.

"JAZZ! GET BACK!" Danny shouted. "It's okay." He said softly, sadly.

Danny's mother and father had pulled out a pair of plasma cannons. "Put my son down monster!" Mrs. Fenton shouted.

"Jazz, when we say go, fire the Fenton Thermos!" Mr. Fenton told his daughter.

"Gotcha dad!"

"Hit me, and you'll take the ghost child with you!" Skulker growled.

"Ghost child? But that's silly, Danny's not a ghost." Mrs. Fenton said with a laugh.

"Danny on three." Feralae told him. "We'll do it at the same time."

"Do what? What are you talking about?" Mrs. Fenton demanded.

"You got it… one… two… three… GOING GHOST!" Danny growled as he transformed.

At the same time Feralae pulled off her pendant and shouted. "By the grace of the Gods, by the grace and power of the dragon masters, REVEAL MY TRUE NATURE!" Her key extended into a sword.

Both adult Fentons gawked as their son phased right through Skulker's hands. "At least I have one victory. I revealed myself by choice, to defend my family. YOU never forced me, and that is something I will NEVER regret!" Danny growled up at him.

"GO FOR IT BRO!" Jazz cheered like a mad soccer supporter. "KICK HIS BUTT!"

"Hello, Skulker isn't alone here."

"Hi Ember, fancy seeing you in these parts." Feralae smirked. "Think your little team up is going to change anything? You failed, Danny came forward on his own. He transformed by his own free will and that's nothing you can take from him."

"Oh but there's something I can take from you." Ember smirked.

"Feralae what's going on?" Mrs. Fenton asked. "What does she mean?"

Ember cackled. "I've already taken it. I have your real name, and now Black Velvet can work the darkest of curses the ghost zone has ever known. All aimed at you."

Feralae growled. "WRATH OF NEMESIS! HELP ME BRING ABOUT THE FORCES OF KARMA!" She levitated after Ember as the music ghost flew away. "I'm going to get you for that Ember! I'm going to stop you before you can get to Black Velvet!"

"TRY AND CATCH ME!" Ember cackled as she flew in a circle around Danny's house.

"Can you get her Jack?" Mrs. Fenton asked as she kept a bead on Skulker.

"She's too fast! I need to slow her down!" Mr. Fenton growled. "Where's a Fenton Fishing rod when you need one?"

"We left them all down in the labs." Mrs. Fenton cried, distressed.

"No need." Feralae grinned as she busted out her favorite Titan attack. Under her breath, so as not to confuse the two adults, she muttered. "Azarath Metion Zinthos." Ember halted mid air

"Hey, what's going on. I can't move!"

"No, because I paralyzed you." Feralae replied. "Now its PAYBACK TIME!" She growled, bringing her knee up into Ember's stomach.

Ember phased, becoming intangible and STAYING that way. "At least you can't hit me!"

"No, but this can!" Jazz growled, activating the Fenton Thermos.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ember cried as she was sucked in.

"Skulker you have until the count of five to get out of here before I team up with my PARENTS and go ghost on you..." Danny was about to add a couple of curse words but his mother glared at him.

"Clever, yes I think I'll take that offer."

"DANNY DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE!" Feralae cried, zooming after him and trailing black energy as she did so.

"What… why…" But it was too late. Skulker was gone.

"My real name…" Feralae said, with considerable anguish. "Skulker got my real name, and now that he has it, he can work horrible black magic on me. That's why I didn't want him to get away." She fell to her knees, horrified.

"I'm sorry… I didn't know…" Mrs. Fenton was horrified, both at her son's revelation and Feralae's anguish.

"Right, now that the cats out of the bag, here's what happened." Danny stated. "I'm what ghosts call a Phantom, half human, half ghost. A slang term for what I am is a Halfa."

"And I am part of a group of interdimensional guardians called Gatekeepers." Feralae told them. "My assumed name, my TAG name is Ostara. We HAVE to use TAG names. If a ghost or witch or other evil monster gets my real name, it means they can work black magick against me."

"Danny? You… you never talked to us or told us or anything?" Mrs. Fenton had tears in her eyes.

"Son, you should have talked to us." Mr. Fenton commented.

"You mean you AREN'T going to use me for science experiments?" Danny asked worriedly.

Mrs. Fenton's eyes widened, horrified. "How could you even THINK that? We're your PARENTS Danny, its our job to PROTECT you, not use you!"

"I knew Danny." Jazz told him. "And aside from Feralae I kept my mouth shut."

"WHAT?" Mrs. Fenton demanded. "YOU KNEW? Jasmine Fenton you are GROUNDED! GO TO YOUR ROOM NOW!"

"Okay that is not fair. I protect my brother for almost a year and you GROUND me?" Jazz demanded.

"That was a year that WE should have been protecting him." Mrs. Fenton growled. "Now do as I say."

"Fine, I'll just go work on my report." Growled Jazz. "See you in the morning."

"Now, I was hoping you could fill me in on what's been happening to you this past year." Mrs. Fenton told Danny. "And Feralae, after he's done you can tell us your story."

Danny blinked in surprise, both at his mother's sudden outburst and the fact that there were tears running down her face. "Well, it started one day, almost a year ago exactly, when you were finally ready to activate the Fenton Portal. When it didn't work I went to investigate. I wanted it to work, so that all your work on it wouldn't be for nothing. So I pulled on a protective suit and went inside. That was when the accident happened, I leaned on a control panel near the door and…"


	9. Chapter 9

**Crossing the Zones**

By Nyassa Kaiba

Notes: I was given a Fenton Gadget.

Ember: Oh no.

Oh yes.

Ember: What is it?

The Fenton-Fic-Fodder-matic! (unveils FFFM)

Ember: ;;

Just watch! Pop in a character… I'll use Sissy for an example.

Sissy: What did you just say? (brandishes Gatekey)

WHAT? I thought Benten took that away from you?

Sissy: She gave it back.

Alright, not Sissy. (looks around) Sam, will you…

Sam: Don't even ask it.

I know! (ties Valerie up and marches her to the FFFM)

Valerie: let me go you creep!

In you go! (dumps Valerie down chute) Now you crank the handle and use your imagination…

Ember: (mutters sarcastic comment)

And add a pinch of salt…

Ember: O.O

And bring it to a boil…

Ember: (covers eyes)

And out comes a ready made fanfic!

Ember: O.o You are NEVER getting me in that thing. Hey, what happened to Valerie?

Valerie (staggers around) .

Ember: Cool! Can I try it on Danny next?

(hugs FFFM) Nope, its mine.

Ember: Darn.

* * *

Feralae FINALLY got to sleep that night after Danny told his parents about two thirds of his adventures over the last year or so. He left out the part about learning to overshadow people, which she thought was wise.

"So everything turned out for the better?" Poindexter was camped out on Feralae's floor.

"Yeah, I suppose. Dex you need to learn about dignity. The whole point of Skulker attacking was to expose and embarrass Danny. By coming forward on his own at the last second Danny was able to snatch that victory away from him."

"But you lost. I mean, he got your real name." Poindexter said worriedly.

"I know, and I'm scared of that, but you know, I can still beat Black Velvet, all I need to do is learn how to mimic ghost powers more effectively. That's training YOU should be doing too."

"I know I know." Poindexter sighed.

Then a knock came on the door. "I'm decent!" Feralae replied. "Come in!"

It was Danny. He smiled sadly. "Hey, some day wasn't it?"

"Yeah. ZP is gonna kill me tomorrow morning." Feralae shook her head.

"Hey Poindexter, come back for an evening?"

"I like the company." Poindexter commented.

Danny laughed. Poindexter had sounded so annoyed. "Sorry, shouldn't laugh, but your expression…"

"What's so funny about it?" Poindexter asked.

"You looked like you'd been accused of something else… never mind…" Danny chuckled. "You're funny you know that?"

"I am?"

"When you don't mean to be, yes." Danny replied. He yawned. "Feralae… thank you for helping me. I'm sorry about your real name getting out."

"The sooner I finish my business here the better." Feralae told him. "Tomorrow we start searching for the Ghost Master."

"That's good. My parents are going to be out and it's a Saturday." Danny told her. "Bright and early right?"

"I'm warning you, with me, bright and early MEANS bright and early." Feralae told him as she rolled over.

Poindexter laughed. "You'd better get back to bed, you know what they say, late to bed and early to rise, makes a man stupid and blind in the eyes."

Danny glared at him. "You can't stay very long Poindexter, remember, mom and dad have security devices all over the house, and depending on how badly you get on my nerves, I may or may not save you." Danny stated.

Poindexter sighed. As soon as Danny was gone. "I knew it was too good to be true."

"What was?" Groaned Feralae, rolling back over.

"I thought Danny and I could maybe be friends. I guess he still doesn't want to be." Poindexter sighed as he rolled over midair, subconsciously mimicking Feralae.

Feralae thought better than to comment, and fell asleep dreaming of her adventures in far off dimensions. Not Lyoko, that was too sad, but the Titans. What good times she'd had with them. A voice came to her mind. /You can have good times here too/ Said the voice.

/D… Delphine? You're a ghost/

/I'm part of you. Remember my sacrifice? Listen, I can't stay long, but you listen to me, have as much fun as you can here with Danny and his friends okay? Because you never know when its going to end./

/Delphine… please… don't go…/

/I have to Feralae, and you have to let me./ Delphine said softly, sadly. /You'll always be like a little sister. And Benten sees something in you. You have a gift… for bringing out the good inside of everybody. Look at how you handled Poindexter./

/That's not too hard./ Thought Feralae.

Then she sat up straight in a cold sweat. The sun was up outside the window. The bedside clock said ten thirty. "TEN THIRTY?" She shrieked. She got up, pulled a spare robe on over her nightgown, grabbed her clothes, and ran to the bathroom to shower.

She found Danny in there drying his hair with a towel. "Right, bright and early."

"Oh shut up." Feralae growled. "Great, I have a dead friend visiting me in my dreams and now I have to go to the ghost zone to find somebody. Please tell me that Delphine doesn't appear."

"Delphine?"

"It's a long story. Delphine was a friend of ZP's. I nearly died trying to pull the three of us out of an interdimensional void and Delphine gives herself instead of me." Feralae growled, looking for a spare toothbrush.

"Here, mom said you probably didn't have many things with you since you travel so much."

"She's right." Feralae replied as she started brushing her teeth.

"So go on with your story."

"Delphine became a spirit, a spirit that lives inside of me. Until now all I've been able to do is access her memories for help when I need advice, but then she appeared to me in a dream." Feralae shuddered. "Hey, any sign of Poindexter?"

"You AREN'T avoiding this topic Feralae. What I want to know is what she said to you."

"Del said that I should enjoy my being here. Have some fun, you know? She also scolded me for being way too serious."

Jazz came to the door. "Feralae, mom wanted to know if you needed anything. She's taking us to the mall for the day."

"For the DAY?" Danny demanded. "But I thought she was going out of town!"

"After last night she changed her mind Danny. You know learning that your kid is a ghost changes things you know."

"Ahem, half ghost." Danny glared at her.

"Right. I'll make a list as soon as I'm clean." Feralae replied. "Most of it is stuff you could pick up at a pharmacy… store… thing… My first aid kit needs to be replenished speaking of which."

"Just bandaids right?" Asked Danny.

"And Sudafed." Replied Feralae. "Plus vitamins, gotta stay healthy right?" She said with a chuckle.

"Right, anything else you need?" Asked Jazz. "Because I'm sure we have some in the medicine cabinet. It's behind the mirror, just pull."

Feralae opened it. "Yeah, so that saves a trip to the drug store."

"We've got more down in the storerooms in the basement." Jazz explained.

"Yeah, after the incident with Spectra I figure gotta keep everything healthy."

"Oh, the mosquito incident?"

"Yeah." Danny turned slightly green. "That was one of the grossest fights I've EVER had."

"Well you should have picked a better replacement than dad's boogers." Replied Jazz with a laugh.

"Yeah, I still can't believe I did that." Danny chuckled. "Man it feels so good to be out in the open, at home at least."

"Yeah, remember, Skulker's next move might be to expose you to the rest of the TOWN." Jazz pointed out. "Mom's coming to the mall ARMED Danny, true, with a gadget, but its still a WEAPON! She thinks that Black Velvet might come after you in public to try to expose you like she did last night. Do you think you're ready for that?" Jazz said archly.

Danny gulped. "What? I've been able to handle Skulker before."

"Yeah, but this Black Velvet, how long has SHE been around?" Feralae asked.

"She first appeared last week. We did okay against her for awhile. But then she brought in Skulker and Ember and Sam decided that we needed help." Replied Danny.

Jazz rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and Feralae can't expose herself either. People normally don't bring swords to the mall."

"Hey, remember the pendant?" Feralae asked. "Now both you clear out. I can't wait to take a shower."

They cleared out and Feralae's singing could be heard as she showered.

Danny came downstairs. "Mom, is it true you're taking a gadget to the mall?"

"Yes dear." Mrs. Fenton replied. "You'd be horribly exposed, so we thought an extra gadget or two."

"As long as they aren't visible." Danny growled. "Mom, I didn't want you to start freaking out, that's exactly what I was hoping to AVOID by not telling you."

"At least take a Fenton Thermos." Mrs. Fenton told him.

"Mom, I've been carrying one ever since I woke up with white hair, glowing eyes, and the ability to walk through WALLS." Danny said sarcastically. "And I'm meeting Sam and Tucker there anyway."

"Fine. We'll take Feralae shopping. And you'd better watch your attitude young man. Our main responsibility as parents is to make sure that you LIVE to reach age eighteen." Mrs. Fenton argued.

"I've got a better idea. How about if I take the gadgets, you drop me and Feralae off to meet Sam and Tucker, go about your business, and pick us up at three." Danny told her. "Besides, we have to help Sam with something anyway, we might as well hang out."

"Fine, take a Fenton Fisher with you too. If Feralae hadn't been there Ember's speed and Skulker's brawn would have over run your powers." Mrs. Fenton glared at her. "You may have the ghost powers, but you don't know their limits."

"Oh, and you do?" Danny asked as he scooped up the armload of gadgets that were sitting on the table.

"No, you're right, I don't. But I think I'll find out." Mrs. Fenton sounded disgusted, almost as if she had forgotten that her son had managed quite well on his own. "Wait a minute, are you saying that Sam and Tucker KNEW about your powers before I did?" Mrs. Fenton demanded.

"Uht-oh, gotta go!" Danny pulled out the Fenton Fisher and Fenton Thermos put the other gadgets on the counter before running upstairs to get his backpack.

"DANIEL FENTON!" Growled Mrs. Fenton after her ghost son.

"Sorry mom, gotta get ready!" Danny shouted back down the stairs.

"Something tells me I'm going to regret the day I ever made that portal." Mrs. Fenton muttered.


End file.
